Forum Topic

Crisis in funding for schools

If we can get away from the tedious and poisonous Brexit debate for a while, one of the consequences of government spending cuts has been the enormous pressure on schools. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, funding for schools has fallen by 8 per cent in real terms over the past eight years. The consequence: heads have had to make teaching staff redundant; they have had to appeal to parents to pay for basic items such as pens and glue sticks; some are closing at lunchtime on a Friday to save money, and other schools have had to take to social media to try to crowdfund for equipment. But the most shocking thing I've read recently is that Furzedown primary school in our very own (and very rich) borough, is in such straits that "five teachers have stepped in to save their colleagues and agreed to take a salary reduction of up to £7,000 a year – enough to safeguard the jobs of two classroom assistants. Furzedown’s head, Monica Kitchlew-Wilson, said that some of the volunteers were now on 80% of their previous salary."And all we get from what I suppose we still have to call a government, is the bromide that they're spending more than ever on schools - without acknowledging increasing pupil numbers and the pressures on costs.https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/mar/30/teachers-volunteer-pay-cut-save-colleagues-jobs-furzedown-funding

Richard Carter ● 2277d13 Comments

The issue of pensions is a very sensitive one here.  You work all your life and, when the time comes - much to our surprise, or at least mine - they tell you you are too young to retire and nobody wants to employ you....  A long story!But it is also true that young people today leave university with debt of eye-watering proportions and perhaps that debt will not be paid.  For me, a person at the age of 24 having a debt beyond his/her belief is insulting.Nurses are being paid nothing and I wholeheartedly support the NHS.As for foreign aid, on this matter I agree with Cameron.  Why give aid to India, Pakistan and/or China when they are nuclear countries or have a wealth beyond ours is ridiculous.  The goalposts much change.As far as aid to Africa is concerned, I do think it should be curtailed too or, at the very least, targeted properly. Africa has had an enormous amount of aid over many years and the poverty has not decreased much.  We see it translated into one tap perhaps somewhere in a desert but the ruling classes getting richer. Zimbabwe comes to mind.Have we reach Soylent Green proportions now, I wonder.Michael, you mention tax avoidance - we all avoid tax, at least to the initial sum of some £11,000.  Tax evasion I object to.  But, as we know, a few hypocrites in government moved their money or businesses to Ireland or other overseas territories....  This I do object to.

Ivonne Holliday ● 2277d

The best answer is to clamp down more on tax avoidance. Those of us that have been paying into national insurance (as opposed to income tax) for 40+ years don't want to see our (or your) pensions watered down. However, I do agree that with increased life expectancies retirement ages have to rise. Cutting foreign aid is a false economy. First, the UK has, at the moment anyway, a strong economy so should be able to afford it; secondly, having a much higher standard of living than those needing help is one of the reasons people want to migrate to the UK and Europe. With satellite TV and the Internet we can't hide that differential from them. (Even if they can't afford their own TVs and PCs their are cafes where they can, and smart phones are cheap and ubiquitous in countries that never had great landline infrastructures.) Western governments should also be concerned that if they don't assist the Chinese are already making inroads in Africa. Obviously, aid needs to be carefully targeted so it isn't used inefficiently are siphoned off into dictators bank accounts ...

Michael Ixer ● 2277d

Totally agree Clare.  Current pension arrangements are unaffordable.  Either these need to be reduced or retirement ages should be significantly raised.  This would free up huge sums to fund education, health and social care

Craig Fordham ● 2277d

The underfunding for education and health is indeed outrageous. However, foreign aid is only 1.2% of our taxes (almost double the 0.7% of my taxes that goes to the UK being a full member of the EU), so not as much money as you think would be 'diverted' to the NHS or education. With the way things are going, state pensions may not even exist by the time I'm old enough to draw it. So another option may be to remove the triple-lock, reduce the 12.8% of my taxes that goes to fund state pensions, and divert that money instead. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-public-spending-was-calculated-in-your-tax-summary/how-public-spending-was-calculated-in-your-tax-summary

Clare Noeken ● 2277d

Brexit usually gets the blame for everything negative so it's only a matter of time.🙄 Don't shout Richard, you'll get told off lol.My Godson is Deputy Head in a London primary school and I know all about the constant struggle to try and stay within budget, but at the same time delivering the best possible education experience for the children. What can be done? I have a solution but it won't be popular to some on this forum. Cancel, or at least suspend the foreign aid budget. Divert this huge, (ridiculously) ring-fenced amount of money half to Education and half to the NHS. I am not saying we shouldn't contribute to foreign aid at all, we must continue to help countries in the event of natural disasters occurring, when and wherever they happen in the world.

Sue Hammond ● 2277d

Chantal must have got her threads crossed.

Michael Ixer ● 2277d

Eh? Nobody, but NOBODY, has blamed the schools funding crisis on Brexit. Do try to get a grip.

Richard Carter ● 2277d

Nick is right, this cannot be blamed on Brexit.  The group representing local authorities was warning of this years ago.

Chantal Blake-Milton ● 2277d

Nobody heading up a Department is going to be happy with cuts to their resources and, judging from Justine's attitude since then, she would not have acquiesced without protest. She certainly opposed Theresa May's plan to bring back Grammar Schools.

Caroline Whitehead ● 2277d

Rather harsh, I think, Nick.  She was at Education from 2016 to 2018, when overall spending was still so tightly controlled by the Treasury . It might even be argued that she fought against the cuts being imposed , though I'm not sure if there's evidence for that.

Richard Carter ● 2277d

I agree with Michael and Nicholas that the underfunding in education and NHS is shocking and unacceptable.However, I think Michael Gove did more damage as Secretary of Education than Nicki Morgan and Justine Greening put together.And austerity gave a great platform for privatisation in a scale that was, and continues to be, frightening.

Ivonne Holliday ● 2277d

And who was responsible for the current level of spending on schools? The blessed Justine Greening.Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 2277d

Quite disgusting, same with healthcare. Year upon year of massive underfunding, yet when banks were in crisis the government managed to find a few bob down the sofa.My school suffered an ILEA funding crisis in the 70s, options were merge with the adjacent comprehensive or go private.They chose the latter.

Peter Miles ● 2277d